I have never much liked novels in translation, nor long novels in general without some guarantee I would like them. What I had read over the years about Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose seemed more off-putting than attractive, though random quotes by Eco have often seemed quite wise, and there were elements that seemed to fit my reading.
Now it appears I shall have to make an attempt at it. Reading about the book in another context, the detective attempting to solve the murders comes in the end face-to-face with Jorge, a blind monk who is librarian of a labyrinthine library in the monastery - and the probable murderer. I thought it merely an amusing accident at first, but in a moment's considering of the theme and the date of composition, wondered whether this monk was a tribute and reference to an actual person. When I learned that the monk's full name was Jorge of Burges, I was then sure: Eco was paying tribute to Jorge Luis Borges, one of my favorite writers.
I looked it up just to make sure I wasn't imagining the connection, but it is well-established.
Just as a data point, I liked The Name of the Rose a lot, translation or no translation. Characters and (especially) plot seemed more important than the prose, which may have a lot to do with that.
ReplyDeleteI no doubt missed a lot of the references because I wasn't fully familiar with the literary world (and I never got around to finishing Aristotle), but the book stands up fine without them. By all means give it a whirl.
ReplyDeleteI'm with James; I liked it when I read it years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe historical wealth in Ecco's books is incredible . Worth the read in every aspect ,even culinary .
ReplyDeleteCheers
You never liked The Three Musketeers? Not even at eighteen? It's a novel that surely has an hour at which, if encountered just then, would entice any worthy youth.
ReplyDeleteI was put off by its being French. Such was my thinking then. The movie came out in college and swayed me a bit.
ReplyDeleteWell, now, I hated the movie. But I loved the way the young men who were the heroes of the story loved each other, and yet betrayed each other at every turn. It was such a beautifully illustrated marker of teenaged friendship that I didn't recognize how badly we were all behaving until I re-read it as an adult. :)
ReplyDeleteDid you read Jorge in translation?
ReplyDeleteBTW, from recent news, relating to an observation you made some time back about politicians working for us or fighting for us: Scott Walker announced that he would "fight" for us.
@james - that depresses me profoundly. I can make a ready excuse that the world has turned and it's the conservatives that must fight in order to survive now, but it is still a sea-change of the first order.
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